Achieve Your Dream Vision for 2018 How to stop the kinks in the road becoming roadblocks.

New Years Resolutions. We do them every year. And for most, they read pretty similar year on year.

Because we never reach those dream destinations! So they’re in effect still available to dream about every New Years Eve. And to be frustrated about by the time February hits!

The determination and conviction that this year will be different that we feel after a few glasses of champagne on New Years Eve soon disappear into the busyness of everyday life that invariably returns early in January. Unwittingly we repeat the same mistakes year after year.

BUT by realising what these mistakes are we can take the control back and stop them before they hit! Read on to ensure your 2018 success!

Accept every day life will return soon into the New Year. When you return to work, when the kids go back to school, when the new course semester starts…. We can’t remain on the cloud of dreams and possibilities that we enjoy so much on New Years Eve forever. This, if dealt will well, is a really good thing. Because it’s only when we step off the cloud and start to realise the changes we desire in our real life, that our dreams really can come true.

Have clarity on what you want. Far too often are we very vague in our New Year Resolutions. We tell ourselves things like ‘this year will be great’, ‘I’ll make real improvements’, ‘I’ll have more fun this year.’ The problem with statements like these is that they’re far too vague. What does better, improvements and fun look like for you? If you don’t know exactly what you’re dream or vision looks like, you’re very unlikely to get to it.

Develop a plan on how to get to your dream. What decisions have to be made, what actions do you need to take as well as what you need to feel able to do, express and feel in order to reach them. Try to steer off any thoughts on the how. That’s when people commonly get stuck. You realise you need to be more assertive, feel able to say no, speak confidently to a crowd, apply for more jobs…. but as soon as you identify a what you counter that with looking for the how. And because this is new territory for you, you don’t immediately know the answer and then you let go of the dream, distracting yourself with your ever day busyness. Just like last year. Sounds familiar? So stay focused on the what. There’s plenty of time to figure out the how later.

Accept that no goal was ever achieved in a linear fashion. You’re most vulnerable of giving up on your New Year resolutions when you have a set back. So instead of losing momentum and giving up, tell yourself that a slip doesn’t need to become a fall. Instead, tell yourself ‘this was my wakeup call’. Consider what led up to the slip, learn from it and get back on track with a forward focus.

Add accountability. The easiest person in the world to let down is yourself. If only you know that you’re meant to be going to the gym, actively do Internet dating, remind yourself that you’re great every day, stop smoking, update your CV, whatever the case is, it’s no real pain attached to not doing it. You’ve not lost face. The problem is, the only person it actually pains, is (da da!) you! So avoid this by telling someone. Someone who will hold you accountable and that the pain of admitting your failings to would be greater than the pain of doing ‘it’.

Add fun to your vision. If your goal is too boring, you’re unlikely to stick with it, however much you know you want it. If you want to be more organised, fitter, to leave a bad relationship, make sure you include the positive feelings you’ll enjoy once you have accomplished these things. Maybe even reward yourself along the way, at set milestones, as well as at the goal completion.

I hope your awareness of these ‘road kinks’ will prevent them from turning into roadblocks.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and successful 2018!

Achieve Your Dream Vision for 2018 How to stop the kinks in the road becoming roadblocks.